In 1906, Congress passed the Antiquities Act which states "the President of the United States is authorized, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments..." President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to use it on September 24, 1906 when he established Devils Tower National Monument.

In the first few years of the act's existence, Presidents Roosevelt and Taft used the power it gave them to protect a wide array of lands as National Monuments. A number of them were on the Colorado Plateau including Grand Canyon National Monument (1908 - now Grand Canyon National Park), Rainbow Bridge National Monument (1910), Mukuntuweap National Monument (1909 - now Zion National Park), Navajo National Monument (1909), and Natural Bridges National Monument (1908).

In August 2009, Rainbow Bridge National Monument began its recognition of its first 100 years when it commemorates the Anglo-American "discover" of Rainbow Bridge, followed by the Presidential Proclamation of the National Monument in May 2010. The 2009 Powell Symposium examined the preservation of America's public lands on the Colorado Plateau.

              

© 2010 Powell Symposium
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